Maps
Sitemap ' MAPS ' Don't forget to look at -> Amended_Game_Level_Maps ''' --- --- --- --- --- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ---- . . . . . . . . . . . . . It is possible that the 'Austen Bathysphere Co' was only an independent 'deluxe service' company that shares the same Metro facilities -- facilities STILL too meager for any significant commuter capacity ( think of a Rush Hour trying to use those Bathyspheres...) Even with strap-hangers to boost the passenger count to 12, you have to 'launch' and re-dock them one at a time - The station we've seen with 1 or 2 bays is a significant chokepoint to traffic and transfers have to walk to another Metro station. Deluxe Bathysphere service (offered at one time) : * Plush seating * In-'sphere bar and snacks * In-transit movies * Slot machines * Radio-phone service * Restrooms * Private compartments * Flight Attendants * Hot Towels * Music Selection ---- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . If Prentis Mills's Atlantic Express system was ONLY what was shown on the one map seen in BS2 in the stations (shown below) then no wonder it was driven out of business (but then if we went by only what the METRO map in BS1 (Austen Bathysphere Co), shows that too would be virtually useless in a real city -- Trolleys that go only 2 blocks, Bathyspheres that only go to a few places and with virtually no capacity (for a City (or even town) level of traffic). A real city HAS to be better connected than that. That is why I have modified the original map and shown a sufficiently extensive system that a REAL city the size of Rapture would require. Note - Many of the views from inside in BS1/BS2 are faulty/impossible - Like the same skydome view being used for all 4 compass facings, or even being reused for multiple locations quite far apart (ie- half of Rapture looks like it is a block away from that 'Fleet Hall' sign). SO little credence should be given for map correlations with these views. The General density of buildings might be taken from it (ex- Paupers Drop with a plain of silt near it, and some 20 story buildings about 600 feet away, and then taller ones several times that far in the distance. Likewise Fontaine Futuristics sits with a cluster of buildings some distance away) Some people might ask how I '''dare to change anything shown in the game. Well, when what is shown in-game is simply impossible (like duplicated outside views) or illogical (expecting Bathyspheres to carry a city's thousands around as daily traffic, and also handle all the freight), then it is actually REQUIRED to make changes for a realistic map to be used in the MMORPG. 20000 was suggested by the Novel as the population of Rapture (which is actually the size of a 'town' in most places) and the built-up nature of the various in-game views/pictures (looks equivalent to slice of downtown Manhattan) would mean there would have be all the other support stuff a REAL city requires (not just a few hundred scientists/artists/rich people, some out-of-work construction-workers/shop-vendors/toilet-scrubbers). A further 20000 could be needed to support that substantial cityscape with manufacturing, services and raw materials. All those people require places to live (consuming more resources) and work -- when they are not roaming around with a piece of pipe or submachinegun. By the time of the MMORPG, this population is WAY down in Rapture, but still alot more than we ever saw in the Solo games (we only directly saw a minuscule part of Rapture and the people who are still alive). Map Additions : Bathysphere routes - Fewer than you would think because it was essentially a 'convenience' Premium service for the more affluent people in Rapture (ie- that difference between 'cab fares' vs 'bus fares' or owning a Limo Submarines). Some of the lines shown on the Austen Bathysphere Co map are actually Trolley lines for the 'Metro' system (and even then, is an incomplete representation). The Bathysphere lines would go between the upscale housing districts, the better shopping centers, the financial districts and headquarters office concentrations (and important sites like Hephaestus used by Ryan). Some connections would be too short and easier traversed using the trolley lines (which did have some first-class service accommodations and some 'private' Trolley cars). The Bathysphere Cableway routes now shown as Yellow lines - largely run between more affluent areas. Notice how some plaza/centers act as hubs and have many lines branching out from them. This design facilitates moving to diverse locations with the least numbers of 'transfers'. Also note how few Bathysphere lines there are in the southern area - just not affluent enough to warrant that service. Most of the real 'Metro' transport were the Trolley service (Black Lines) running largely on the 'street' system throughout Rapture. The 'Streets' are more a continuous building structure, with either residences or shops as well as the Trolley route running down its middle. Some other Trolleys segments would run alone in their own viaducts. Map has previously known (BS1/BS2) city clusterings, and many new ones (30-odd) at logical locations. Not indicated is each clustere's extent of the surrounding buildings or blocks of 'street' structures around each marker. The largest of the Red Circles scale to about 500 foot across, and the central Plaza and surrounding cluster of large building and sprawling smaller ones often extend well outside that size, as well as various connecting streets, viaducts, and track structures. A few of my added Clusters got names : * Shady Acres - a pastoral retirement community with verdant greenery (surrounding farms in some of the larger caverns in Rapture). Some rich individuals came to Rapture just for a peaceful retirement. * Asclepius (Hospital) - Hospital type medical center (much more than Medical Pavilion is -- a real medical center for more than cosmetic surgery). But since the advent of ADAM based healing, it was later largely disused for that purpose and instead was sublet to various companies. (Sinclair had more of his company research facilities here). * Greenbelt - another farming center that house many farming workers who worked in the numerous 'farms' in that vicinity. Later it was Lamb's 'grain basket' that fed her collectivist realm. * Ryan Institute - Primary site for Ryan Labs - location of the research wing of Ryan Industries, including Ryans ADAM/Plasmid research and development. Sinclair had facilities here as well. * Asgard Station - an affluent residential area. Agamemnon Towers is a prominent landmark. * Ridgeway - a plaza along the Northern Ridge of the City (having many small residences built into the ridgeside) * Hudson - the Hudson Power company complex, which competed with Hephaestus providing power and heating to the City * The Abyss Overlook - the real end-of-the-line on the AE 'Short Line'. Pathway to that eerily glowing Abyss. * South Junction and Rapture Junction - crossings and interchanges between different Atlantic Express Lines * Central Administration - Location of old City Council - Basically the bureaucratic center of Rapture (permits, paying fines, service billings). Also location of the City Jail (separate from Inner and Outer Persephone which is more like a Prison), Maintenance department HQ, the Constable's central offices, etc... * Hermes Hall - location of the most stylish and expensive shopping areas and clubs in Rapture. * Millville - named after Prentis Mill who built the Atlantic Express system. One of the first two stations of the Atlantic Express in the Cities early days. His 'Mansion' stands off to the side of this plaza cluster. * Rapture University - Institution of higher learning for the thousands of new adults Rapture was producing. Funded largely by industry/manufacturing to produce personnel and research that would be Raptures future. * Carnival - location of Grand Carnival, Fairgrounds, The Circus and a number of 'ethnic' themed areas. (Now with the New Columbia rollercoaster that leaves you hanging out in midair and flings you thru absurdly tight curves and steep dives). * Smugglers Den 2 - hidden site of Fontaine/Atlas's replacement smuggling base (setup prior to Fontaine's first 'death'). * Quarry - one of the earliest sites in Rapture, where the cement and aggregate plants were located. Later, a geothermal plant was built after the waste rock piles grew out into 'the drop off'. Building materials were shipped from here to all parts of the City while it was built. Various small construction projects kept it running upto the time of the Civil War. * "Stadium" -- a big cavern inside a solid chunk of rock (near the Lighthouse), used for popular sports leagues and other athletic pursuits. * Fontaine Court - future home to New Raptures City Center. Became a 'company town' for Fontaine's fish industry workers. * Construction Cableway between the Lighthouse Island and Port Rapture. Used to move the huge quantities of materials down to Rapture during the construction period. Built up the area around Welcome Center to represent that area of tall buildings (that Manhattan-like cityscape) you initially see on your Bathysphere trip from from the Lighthouse (and can also see in the distance from Point Prometheus). Indicators for the "Ceres Green" farms - located because of its centrally located 'good' igneous rock structure that allowed tunnels and caverns to be built with little/virtually no additional support structuring (cheaper). Note- close proximity to Farmers Market and the agriculture research centers. Indicators for "The Shallows" aqua-farming (seaweed, mussel beds, 'fishponds') in an area shallow enough for natural light to reach but are still protected from strong currents and marauding icebergs. Area enhanced by nutrients from Rapture's processed sewage. The Geothermal Fields near Hephaestus (lots of small Geothermal generators were more effective than the monstrous 'Harmonic Cores'). Several competing power stations eventually were built in this geothermal active region. "Industria" area - location of industries that require large amounts of air and thus are located closer to the ocean surface (up the mountainside). Added more 'Street' linkages between various Plazas (these need to interlink alot more than those Bathysphere routes to efficiently handle the population's transport needs). Submarines routes are not indicated because they could go just about anywhere (many airlocks throughout the city as well as using the Metro Bathysphere facilities). Private submarines were a rarity because of their expense. Atlantic Express system : * Black Dotted Lines for the upgraded Mk2 system (still used for freight service - NOT shut down like its passenger component was). Most of the AE stations became 'freight stations' as that part of the business increased. Freight operations made Rapture operate as a real city instead of an amusement park. * Blue Dotted Lines for the remaining Mk1 type track system - mostly the 'Short line' to the south end entertainment venues and the oldest trackage running the Quarry line (used to transport materials for constructing many of the city's foundations). Other AE tracks were converted to (or originally built with) the higher capacity Mk2 track structure. Some of that 'mess' of tracks from the BS2 AE map are parallel lines (new Mk2 tracks built while the old Mk1 tracks kept operating). * Cleaned up 'Freightyard' and various connecting tracks to the AE repair facilities/shops at the AE Depot. * Adjusted and highlighted some surface contours. As an old undersea volcano, Rapture's location has variations of rock from different eruption events, varying from solid igneous rock (from lava flows and underground magma structures before it blew its top off) and deposits of softer ash and rubble and sea bottom deposits which eroded differently over the eons. The map shows that Rapture had areas of building concentrations and others largely empty (window views from Paupers Drop and Fontaine Futuristics even show this). Some areas had nice solid rock to build upon and others deep layers of silt that would have been like quicksand. Areas of flat (thick) silt plains forced the City to be spread out. ---- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Bigger Picture : Missing from Rapture is a sense of what's 20 miles around the City (and what all is 100 miles ...) Sea Mounts (undersea mountains) are usually steep, and with the large (relatively flat) shallow area Rapture sits upon (at a ~600 foot depth), then the rest must be quite large, but slopes down to the 6000+ feet depth of the Ocean floor in that area (which is well off any 'continental shelf). We are told of the Abyss, which might be a collapsed void in the old volcano's main vent, which may extend down thousands of feet further. Various industrial areas needed to support the city would have to be somewhere. Nearby shallow areas closer to the surface (and sunlight) could be used to grow various things (and also industries that need alot of 'air'). The Geothermal fields near Hephaestus extend over quite a large area. It is unlikely the volcanic rock holds much in the way of minerals (which have to be concentrated to be of use). Some crude oil site might be quite a ways from Rapture (nearest oil is north of Iceland hundreds of miles away). --- 'Outer Rapture' - communities outside the city area : Industrial sites (some with alot of automation/remote control to improve efficiency/minimize personnel - particularly deep see operations). 'Suburban' - trains were used to transport passengers to these locations - the Metro (Trolleys or Bathyspheres) usually did not run that far. Atlantic Express trains still roll out there ... Many of these areas cut themselves off from the 'troubles', and many had sufficient resources to be self-sufficient at least in basics. Many 'Surviors' grouped together to share resources and know-how. Outer Rapture was where a significant part of 'the other 20000' lived (and where lots of people managed to stay alive up to MMORPG times). Local Farms in certain areas, where the local rock was consistently solid for the inexpensive tunnels/caverns required for the volumes agriculture took up (even better if there was local geothermal power/heating available). The 'real estate' around Arcadia/Ceres Green/Greenbelt was bought up early, so other similar good 'farming locations (including some small pockets) were located outside Rapture. As the so called 'civil war' (and later 'the Chaos') took place and effected food supplies, more of these outlying areas expanded/converted more space/effort to food farming to survive. ---- The Emergency Access Panel in Medical Center : . . . . . . . . . . . * Map needs revising to match the Metro maps (locations are not consistantly positioned) * Represents a set of secondary Bathysphere Stations (likely on seperate cableways) * The 'Emergency Access' system allowed quick movement of emergency/security personnel, bypassing public transit. --- --- --- Original "Security Map" (As seen in BS1) : . . . . . . . . . . . . Original Emergency Map which made little sense when attempting to match up to the Austen Bathysphere map (further above). This Game Asset was probably created early by some game 'asset creator' (developer) without anyone cross indexing game map info - which is pretty damn sloppy. Seriously, I remade it into the corrected one (further above) in just a few minutes of re-editing. --- --- --- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rapture was off to the side of the Mid-Atlantic Trench - a Dormant Sea Mount Volcano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BaSx had to try to RETRO-stitch Infinite BS into our Rapture. This was one of the absurdities trying to justify the Magic Potion Vigors of Columbia by tying it to the Genetic ADAM Technologies of Rapture. All I can think is : How many of Jeremiah Fink's minions died horribly in the Deep Ocean, before he had to resort to stealing all his ADAM from Rapture through Tears. History of the Hunley https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._L._Hunley_(submarine) The Ocean is FAR deeper in many of these indicated spots than Rapture would be. Away from the Azores Islands, the depth rapidly goes down to over 10000 feet deep (Well over 10X deeper than Rapture). Jeremiah Finks Iron Contraptions would come back up (if they ever did) looking like squished-out Tubes of Toothpaste (and the occupants/crew effectively being the consistency of toothpaste). --- --- --- . . . . . . . . . . . . --- --- --- . . . . . . . . . . . Whole Bermuda Triangle thing going on there I guess (from SitS). Ryan wouldn't want to attract attention, so maybe its an outcome of more crimes by Fontaine (or Sofia Lamb). --- --- --- --- --- . .